No. 12 Maryland men’s lacrosse snaps three-game skid in 13-8 win vs Delaware

Franklin Zessis
Mar 6
2 min read

12th-ranked Maryland men’s lacrosse’s previous game with Eric Spanos was ugly. The Terps scored just eight goals and shot at a season-low 20 percent. But with Spanos still out against Delaware on Friday, Maryland’s offense was much better.

Maryland scored nine first-half goals and shot 41.9 percent, allowing it to cruise to a 13-8 victory over Delaware at Delaware Stadium.

Heading into Maryland’s contest against Delaware, coach John Tillman emphasized the need to create quality looks. Tillman stated on Wednesday that while Maryland recorded 40 shots against then-second-ranked Notre Dame, it did not generate 40 quality shots.

Tillman added that part of the reason was that Maryland’s offense was trying too hard to overcompensate, resulting in players settling for outside and low-angle shots.

On Friday, Maryland (2-1) did not have that problem. The Terps found quality opportunities from the opening possession as a pass to the low post gave attacker Braden Erksa a wide-open lane to the net.

The early goal sparked an immediate run for the Terps as a plethora of open looks allowed Maryland to score on its following three shots and forced a timeout from Delaware (1-5) less than four minutes into the game.

Erksa was a key component in Maryland’s offense last season, finishing third on the team in goal scoring and second in total points. But the senior had struggled since Maryland’s season opener, tallying just four points in his last three games.

With Spanos out of the lineup for a second consecutive game, Erksa was much better. He finished the game with three goals and six points.

Despite Maryland's strong start, turnovers plagued the Terps throughout the game. Maryland committed a season-high 19 turnovers. Nine of those turnovers came between Delaware’s first-quarter timeout and the 6:12 mark of the second quarter.

The abundance of turnovers limited Maryland to just one goal over nearly 20 minutes of game time. Those stretches hurt Maryland in its prior games, but the Terps’ defense limited the Blue Hens to just three goals over that stretch.

A key component to that success was the play of goalie Brian Ruppel. The senior entered the matchup coming off a season-best 11 save performance against Notre Dame and matched that save total against Delaware.

Ruppel’s play, combined with another strong performance by the faceoff unit, allowed Maryland to regain its offensive rhythm and finish the final 6:12 on a 4-1 run and take a 9-4 lead into halftime.

Maryland’s turnover problems persisted in the second half, but its Yale transfers dominated on offense. The combination of Chris Lyons and Leo Johnson tallied all four of Maryland’s goals, allowing the Terps to match Delaware’s offensive output and snap its three-game skid.

Despite the win, Maryland will need to reduce the amount of turnovers as its grueling schedule continues in its next game against No. 17 Virginia.

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